Internal bracing sock construction

ABSTRACT

A footwear accessory in the form of an elastic sleeve provides stability and support to the wearer that is not otherwise obtained from street and fashion footwear. The accessory enables a dancer to perform using street and fashion footwear in lieu of conventional dance footwear. The sleeve is adapted for positioning about the arch of a footbed or the insole of a shoe. In addition to stabilizing the wearer&#39;s foot, the accessory retains the foot against the footbed or shoe insole, particularly during vigorous dance movements.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traditional dance shoes are designed to provide security to the dancer'sfeet. However, non-dance shoes, and particularly heeled shoes such asdress shoes, do not provide the medial and lateral stability and anklesecurity necessary for dancing. Moreover, such shoes do not have theability to maintain a close proximity of the foot to the shoe so thatvarious, strenuous movements are possible, especially when dancing.

The invention relates to a shoe accessory in the form of a sockstructure that acts as a brace and provides strength, support andstability. When combined with a decorative upper, it provides the userwith freedom of movement and a design appropriate article of footwear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Shoe and sock combinations are known in the patented prior art as shownfor example by the Payne U.S. Pat. No. 2,332,252 which discloses a beachshoe including a lower shoe portion including a heel and an upperelastic sock portion. While these prior shoe and sock combinationsperform satisfactorily, they do not provide sufficient lateral andmedial support to the wearer's foot and do not efficiently retain thefoot against the insole of the shoe, particularly during vigorousmovement such as dance movements.

The present invention was developed in order to overcome these and otherdrawbacks of prior shoe and sock combinations by providing an elasticbrace construction that is integrated into the shoe construction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the invention to provide a shoeaccessory including a footbed including toe, arch, and heel portions andan elastic sleeve connected with the footbed arch portion. The sleevecontains a top opening for receiving the foot of the wearer, a frontopening through which the toes and ball of the wearer's foot extendabove the footbed toe portion, and a rear opening from which the heel ofthe wearer's foot extends above the footbed heel portion. When theaccessory is used in connection with a shoe, the sleeve stabilizes thewearer's foot relative to the shoe and retains the bottom portion of thefoot against the insole of the shoe.

According to a further object of the invention, the accessory isconnected with a shoe. More particularly, the footbed is connected withthe sole of the shoe and the sleeve is at least partially connected withthe shoe upper.

In a preferred embodiment, the sleeve is reinforced with stitchingaround the top, front, and rear openings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent froma study of the following specification when viewed in the light of theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe accessory according to theinvention connected with a high heel shoe sole;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are top and bottom views, respectively, of the shoeaccessory according to the invention;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are front and rear views, respectively, of the shoeaccessory of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are left and right side views, respectively, of the shoeaccessory of FIG. 2 as worn on a wearer's foot; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the accessory connected with a shoe soleand upper according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in the drawing, the shoe accessory 2 according to the inventionis adapted for use with a shoe 4. The accessory standing alone is shownin FIGS. 2-7. FIG. 1 shows the accessory used with a high heeled shoewithout an upper and FIG. 8 shows the accessory connected with a highheel shoe with an upper 6.

In a first embodiment of the accessory as shown in FIG. 1, the accessoryincludes a sleeve 8. The sleeve is preferably formed of a syntheticelastic fabric material such as spandex and can be provided withdifferent dimensions to accommodate different sized feet. The sleevecontains a top opening 10 for receiving a foot of the wearer. Accordingto the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the sleeve further contains a frontopening 12 through which the toes and the ball of the wearer's footextend, as shown for example in the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7. Inaddition, the sleeve contains a heel opening 14 through which the heelof the wearer's foot extends. The sleeve is arranged on a shoe of thetype which does not have an upper. That is, the shoe toe portion passesthrough the heel and toe openings of the sleeve, with the sleeve beingpositioned in an arch region of the shoe. When the wearer inserts thefoot through the top opening 10 with the toes and ball of the footextending through the front opening 12, the sleeve serves to stabilizethe wearer's foot, and particularly the wearer's ankle, as well as toretain the foot against the top surface of the shoe 4. It will beapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that in the embodiment ofFIG. 1, the sleeve need not be physically connected with the shoe. Thatis, the sleeve is removable from the shoe. However, when the sleeve andshoe are worn in combination, the elasticity of the sleeve serves toretain the shoe on the wearer's foot.

Another embodiment of the accessory is shown in FIGS. 2-7. Thisembodiment is designed to be used with or without a shoe. The accessoryof FIGS. 2-7 includes a footbed 16 which is formed of any suitablematerial such as leather or a composite material and the sleeve isconnected with the footbed. The footbed includes toe 16 a, arch 16 b,and heel 16 c portions and the sleeve is connected with the arch footbedarch portion. In this embodiment, the sleeve is connected with thefootbed, such as by stitching 18 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. When usedwithout a shoe, the footbed serves as a sandal and the sleeve stabilizesthe foot.

In both embodiments of the accessory described above, the sleeve isreinforced about the top, front and heel openings. The reinforcement isprovided by reversely folding a portion of the sleeve within eachopening and then applying stitching 20 to connect the reversely foldedportions with the main portion of the sleeve.

FIG. 8 shows the footbed and sleeve accessory connected with a shoehaving an upper 6. In this embodiment, the footbed is connected with theshoe sole via stitching around the perimeter of the footbed and thesleeve is at least partially connected with the upper via stitching 22.The connection of the sleeve with the shoe upper is such as to retainthe elasticity of the sleeve so that it provides stability to thedancer's foot well beyond that provided by the upper.

The elastic sleeve acts like a brace and provides strength, support andstability to the wearer's foot. When combined with a decorative upper,it allows the user/wearer freedom of movement with a design appropriatearticle of footwear.

The internal sleeve is integrated into the shoe construction so that itis lasted separately from the upper. This creates an internal structureof the shoe that provides the aforementioned support but moreimportantly keeps the foot stable and connected with the insole of theshoe at all times. This construction avoids the need for outwardadjustments such as laces, zippers, and the like to make the shoe feeltighter and more secure. The design of the internal sleeve is such thatthe heel is exposed and the sleeve acts as a sock or bootie which wrapssecurely around the ankle, instep and arch. The sleeve is constructed sothat it is a separate element from the upper, yet does not affect theoutward appearance of the upper.

The sleeve and shoe combination is particularly useful for dancers inthat it allows a dancer to perform all manner of dance moves which he orshe would otherwise not be able to perform while wearing a street orfashion shoe without risk of falling or injury since the conventionalstreet or dance shoe is not made to fit securely for dancing purposes.

The accessory is applicable to any shoe articles, and particularly anyheeled shoes.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustratedand described, it will be apparent those of ordinary skill in the artthat various changes and modifications may be made without deviatingfrom the inventive concepts set forth above.

What is claimed is:
 1. An accessory for a shoe, comprising (a) a footbedincluding heel, arch, and toe portions; and (b) an elastic sleeveconnected with said arch portion of said footbed, said sleeve containinga top opening for receiving the foot of a wearer, whereby when theaccessory is used in connection with a shoe, the accessory stabilizesthe wearer's foot relative to the shoe and retains the bottom portion ofthe wearer's foot against an insole of the shoe.
 2. An accessory asdefined in claim 1, wherein said elastic sleeve contains a front openingthrough which the toes and ball of the wearer's foot extend above saidfootbed toe portion.
 3. An accessory as defined in claim 2, wherein saidelastic sleeve contains a rear opening from which the heel of thewearer's foot extends above said footbed heel portion.
 4. An accessoryas defined in claim 3, and further comprising a shoe having a sole andan upper, said footbed being connected with said shoe sole and saidsleeve being at least partially connected with said shoe upper.
 5. Anaccessory as defined in claim 4, wherein said sleeve includes stitchingaround said top, front, and rear openings to reinforce portions of saidsleeve adjacent to said top, front, and rear openings, respectively.